SOEP Research: Inequality and Mobility

The Roots of Inequality: Estimating Inequality of Opportunity from Regression Trees and Forests

The Short-Run Employment Effects of the German Minimum Wage Reform

We assess the short-term employment effects of the introduction of a national statutory minimum wage in Germany in 2015. For this purpose, we exploit variation in the regional treatment intensity, assuming that the stronger a minimum wage ‘bites’ into the regional wage distribution, the stronger the regional labour market will be affected. In contrast to previous studies, we construct two regional ...

Improvement of the research data infrastructure in the area of high-worth individuals with the Socio-Economic Panel

The lack of a register-based sampling frame on high-worth individuals in many countries challenged previous attempts to sample high-worth individuals in voluntary scientific surveys. As a result, these individuals are typically under-represented in population surveys. In a novel research design, we draw on register data on the shareholding structures of companies as a sampling frame. Our design...

Inequality of Earnings in Germany Generally Accepted but Low Incomes Considered Unfair

Earnings differences are a recurring topic of public discussion in Germany. Data from the long-term Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study as well as a separate survey of German employees (LINOS) show that earnings inequalities are generally perceived as fair while a substantial share of the respondents find the current earnings distribution in Germany unfair. This applies above all to the middle and lower ...

Inequality of Earnings in Germany Generally Accepted but Low Incomes Considered Unfair

Earnings differences are a recurring topic of public discussion in Germany. Data from the long-term Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study as well as a separate survey of German employees (LINOS) show that earnings inequalities are generally perceived as fair while a substantial share of the respondents find the current earnings distribution in Germany unfair. This applies above all to the middle and lower ...

A Novel Sampling Strategy for Surveying High-Worth Individuals - An Application Using the Socio-Economic Panel

High-worth individuals are typically underrepresented or completely missing in population surveys. The lack of a register-based sampling frame on high-worth individuals in many countries challenged previous attempts to sample high-worth individuals in voluntary scientific surveys. In a novel research design, we draw on register data on the shareholding structures of companies as a sampling frame. Our ...

Linos-2 Workshop

As part of the DFG-funded project Strukturelle Bedingungen von Gerechtigkeitseinstellungen über den Lebensverlauf (for short LINOS for Legitimation of Inequalities over the Life-span), a workshop will take place on 13th and 14th of September, 2018 at the DIW premises. The workshop will focus on the first two waves of an employee panel, which is surveyed in the context of the LINOS project....

Homeownership and Wealth in Switzerland and Germany

Property wealth represents the most important wealth component in nearly all OECD countries. Homeownership is linked to wealth accumulation in several ways: Wealthier households are more likely to buy a house or apartment, home owners tend to save more and rising house values typically yield higher returns than money in a bank account. Moreover, owners can borrow on a mortgage to finance, e.g., the ...

Minimum Wage Not yet for Everyone: On the Compensation of Eligible Workers before and after the Minimum Wage Reform from the Perspective of Employees

Calculations based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) show that after the introduction of a statutory minimum wage in Germany in January 2015, the wage growth of eligible employees with low wages accelerated significantly. Before the reform, the nominal growth in contractual hourly wages in the lowest decile, the bottom tenth of the pay distribution, was less than two percent in the long-term ...

Real Income Rose Significantly between 1991 and 2014 on Average – First Indication of Return to Increased Income Inequality

The real disposable income of private households in Germany, accounting for inflation, rose by 12 percent between 1991 and 2014. This is what the present study based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) has shown. However, the trends varied greatly depending on income group. While the middle income segment rose by more than eight percent, the highest income segment increased by up to 26 percent. ...